The United States has delivered the first of three Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft to Canada for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
The Army Program Executive Office’s Aviation Fixed Wing Project Office turned over the ISR platform on Feb. 22 at L3Harris Technologies’ facility in Greenville, Texas.
L3Harris won the contract in November 2020 to integrate ISR capabilities into the three Textron-manufactured planes.
The completed platform meets the Canadian Armed Forces’ requirements for enhancing its ISR capabilities, the Army said, adding that the aircraft can promptly deliver tactical, operational and strategic effects.
The Canadian Department of National Defence confirmed receiving the aircraft, which a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot flew to an installation in Trenton, Ontario. It said the twin-engine aircraft was acquired under the Manned Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program, with the delivery of the last two units scheduled to be completed by yearend.
The aircraft, which bears the numerical designation CE-145C, will be nicknamed “Vigilance.”
In a statement, Joseph Kidwell Jr., senior central case manager at Army Security Assistance Command, said the aircraft delivery will help grow the United States’s partnership with Canada.
“The U.S. and Canada continue to have one of the most excellent military alliances in the world,” he noted.
